The Morning After
by tyl ashke
Summary: Ukitake wakes up with his lover at his side. ByaUki.


A/N: Inspired by a piece of art by my friend, argentum_luna. ^^

Link to art: http: / argentum-luna . livejournal . com / 45981 . html #cutid1 (Note: Not work safe)

* * *

**The Morning After**

Juushiro opened his eyes; it was morning and surprisingly, the person next to him had not yet stirred. Turning his face to look at his lover, gently calm and peaceful in slumber, he lightly brushed his fringe to one side with a finger and gazed back at him lovingly. It was rare for Byakuya to wake after him, since he was the more alert of the both of them, and he often enjoyed these moments, where he could see Byakuya looking this innocent, without the usual mask he usually paraded to the rest of the world.

'Just a little longer,' he thought, suddenly feeling a cough coming on. His pneumonia was still being controlled by medication Unohana-taicho had prescribed, but try as hard as she could, it did not seem that she had found a cure for him yet. Nevertheless, he was thankful that it was under control so that Byakuya would not have to deal with losing another person close to him.

Despite both being battle-seasoned veterans and used to the death of compatriots, Juushiro did know that if anything did happen to him, Byakuya's withdrawal would reach previously unfathomable depths that any other person would find almost impossible to pull him from. It had already been hard enough for him to get Byakuya to even start to get over Hisana.

It was not to be though. Juushiro covered his mouth and turned away, trying to stifle the hacking cough that escaped from him as much as possible, so as not to wake Byakuya. "...Shiro-kun?" Byakuya's voice asked sleepily, his eyes still closed, not fully awake. Juushiro smiled, his coughing having subsided as quickly as it came, and reached out to softly ruffle the smooth raven black hair. "I'm fine," he softly murmured, before gently easing into a sitting position. He reached out for the vial of medicine that stood near the futon and downed a mouthful of the familiar tasting slightly bitter liquid.

This seemed to wake Byakuya though and Juushiro watched in slight amusement as his lover turned over and opened his eyes slightly, "Shiro-kun, are you okay?" "I'm fine," he smiled back and bent down to place a chaste kiss on his forehead. It was quite amusing to have Byakuya this normal, given that he would be usually rather worried, worry that he did not show in front of others, whenever he was coughing.

A slight smirk crossed Juushiro's face as he wondered if the previous night's activities had been too strenuous for his lover. While they were both usually very passionate lovers, it seemed as though the repeated cycles of hard and fast, then slow and tender, had effected some strain on his younger lover's stamina.

Taking the chance to tease the not-yet fully awake Byakuya, Juushiro asked, "So... which did you enjoy more last night? I think the one that started in this position was fun." Gesturing to Byakuya's position, his lover's head resting on his own elbow, that currently rested over his thighs, only separated by a single layer of silk, Juushiro smirked slightly as Byakuya blushed after a few seconds. It seemed that it had finally registered in his lover's mind that his head was in a rather perfect position to begin something else. "So Bya-kun, how about round two?" He chuckled as the blush deepened further, rosy red on porcelain white.

Scowling slightly, Byakuya replied, his tone still warm though, "Since you're able to crack jokes, I should think that you're fine now. How about breakfast, Ukitake-taicho?"

Standing up, Juushiro allowed the blanket to pool at his feet as he asked with another smirk, "Are you sure you don't want any more of this?" He did continue with putting on his clothes though, watching as a blush formed again on Byakuya's face. His eyes roved over his lover's body as he watched Byakuya dress, and then slipped on the kensaiken, something that he was already used to doing.

When they were both done, they nuzzled and kissed - one last intimate moment before their day started. "Kuchiki-taicho, after you," Juushiro slid open the door. "Thank you, Ukitake-taicho," Byakuya replied, with a cool nod, his mask already on. Their day had started and while Juushiro was not sure of what exactly Byakuya thought of the previous night, though he would probably be reminded of it whenever he sat down later, Byakuya's soft expression while he was sleeping, as well as his blush when he was lying on his lap, were memories he would not forget.


End file.
